Blue Eagles and Pigs

First of all, the town of Nazareth just got a whole lot more interesting.

<<<<(The Weave)

Just when my good buddy, the No. 1 Blue Eagles' fan of all-time, Andy Weaver, comes back to town after graduating from the Hiram G Andrews Center in Johnstown with a degree in accounting, his hometown just got a big jolt of excitement with the hiring of new football coach Rob Melosky.

Love or hate him -- and he has large numbers on both sides of that fence -- Melosky will at least create some sizzle with the Blue Eagles, the biggest news the program has generated since Whitey Williams was hired.

I am glad Melosky is back as a head coach because even his detractors will admit that he's very passionate about the game of football. He grew up with it in his blood.

Melosky made some mistakes in his first two gigs at Freedom and Parkland, but I believe some of those errors came with youth. He's older, more mature, more seasoned now after spending time at Lehigh and Bethlehem Catholic and I think he will be a better coach.

He also has a lot to prove. There will be those who will always insist that he benefitted from a tremendous amount of talent at Parkland and didn't have to develop talent; and they'll say he merely had it dropped in his lap by those strong North and South Parkland youth programs and a juggernaut freshman program.

No one will accuse him of having excessive talent at his disposal at Nazareth. Next to Allen and Dieruff, perhaps no program in the Lehigh Valley Conference has struggled as much as this one has. Some have even suggested the Blue Eagles would be better served if they returned to the Mountain Valley Conference. If Melosky can boost the Blue Eagles to a level where they can merely compete with the Eastons, Libertys and Parklands, he will be doing a remarkable job.

Certainly how Melosky does at Nazareth becomes one of the more compelling storylines of the 2008 season which, believe it or not, is only four months away.

In Tuesday's Radio/TV column atop page C2, I wrote about IronPigs radio man Jon Schaeffer's thoughts on having to call games for a 3-22 baseball team.

<<<(Jon Schaeffer is in his sixth season of pro ball after spending the last three in Lynchburg, Va., with the Lynchburg Hillcats.)

Schaeffer is from Lower Merion High School and you can't talk to someone from Lower Merion without having to talk about Kobe Bryant and basketball, for at least a little bit.

But what I enjoyed the most when I talked to Schaeffer the other day was his insights into the Lehigh Valley, having spent the last six or seven months here on the ground floor of building our new team.

As someone who has spent all but one year of his 47 years on this earth living in the Lehigh Valley, I think I know this area well. But I'm always interested in hearing what newcomers have to say.

I maintain that while we fiercely like to proclaim our independence from Philadelphia around here, we also tend to absorb the Philly sports mentality when it comes to negativity and derive some peculiar type of enjoyment from misery.

Schaeffer agreed.

"I grew up near Philadelphia and that mentality of 'We're not winners and why does this always happen to us' is always there," Schaeffer said. "Philadelphia tends to look at New York and other eastern cities and say 'Why not us?' Philly is wedged between New York and Washington. New York City is the commerce and entertainment capital of the world and Washington houses the government. In Philly, there's the thinking that 'we founded the country, but we really haven't done much else over the past 250 years' and people live their lives with some kind of interiority complex. It's part of the makeup of Philadelphia and it extends to the Lehigh Valley."

Schaeffer senses that the fans coming out to Coca-Cola Park to see the IronPigs know the game and they'll applaud a good play and boo a bad one.

"Booing shows knowledge and appreciation of the game," Schaeffer said, spoken like a true Philadelphian. "People here want to see good baseball. People pay their money and expect their best effort. With our team, it's not a matter of effort. They're all out there trying, maybe too hard. It's just a matter of when -- not if -- this team will start winning more games.

"Overall, I think this is going to be a really good fan base. They're coming out now to see the park, and it's the premier minor league ballpark in the country. But when we start winning, it will be an added bonus for these fans because they care and they want to see winning baseball."

Schaeffer also made a good point about the number of attractions and promotions the IronPigs have put together. In most other places, the Triple-A franchises rely on the fact that it's Triple-A baseball and they don't need to give anything else to their fans. That's not the way the IronPigs feel. In just the last few games, they've given away a nice beer glass, a bobblehead and a bat.

Tonight, (Tuesday) they're giving you Scooby and Shaggy, and hopefully, their fourth win of the season.

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Current Comments

Maybe Melosky can start the maturation process by not dodging the local newspapers' attempt to reach him for comment on being hired.

Posted By: Mike | Apr 29, 2008 7:18:51 PM

Mike:

Nazareth held a press conference for Rob today and there will be a big story on the hiring in tomorrow's paper. Rob may have been told not to talk to reporters until the press conference.

KEG

Posted By: Keith Groller | Apr 29, 2008 7:47:19 PM

I understand that. He could of at least called back on Monday and indicated that he did not wish to comment.

The guy has some baggage and it would have made himself look a little better by returning a phone call.

Posted By: Mike | Apr 29, 2008 8:44:01 PM

I love Groller's Corner! Keep up the great work!

Pete

Posted By: Pete | Apr 29, 2008 11:24:25 PM

Keith,
I was just watching some of "Costas Now" on another blog and Bob really has a low opinion of blogs in general.
My opinion is that they are fun to read and entertaining - I really enjoy reading Groller's Corner. It gives you and other people a chance to interact in a less formal setting than the traditional writer to reader interaction. And you can write about things that may not normally make the paper.
Do you worry that sports blogs will have a big effect on newpaper sports reporting?
Have a good one. It has been interesting seeing how the Lehigh Valley coaching positions are being filled in over the last two weeks.

Posted By: BD | Apr 30, 2008 10:20:06 PM

Now I know why Melosky didn't return phone calls. He was charged with punching a Northampton teen on Wednesday. The Express-Times had a post on its site. Nothing on the Morning Call's site as of 1:22 a.m.

Posted By: Mike | May 1, 2008 1:23:09 AM

Are you going to blog a followup? Quit covering for this jerk, Keith.

Posted By: Bernie | May 1, 2008 11:59:48 AM

Hey Keith

I hope your surgery went well today!

The President of your Fan Club,

Andy Weaver

Posted By: Andy Weaver | May 1, 2008 1:44:42 PM

You will be waiting a long time for another blog. This paper doesn't even post the story about Melosky's charges. The Call never gets involved in controversial issues when it comes to athletes and coaches. They like to pretend it never happened.

The sad thing is that Groller knew this guy was bad news and he still wrote about how great it was for Nazareth to hire the clown. I wonder if Groller would like his kids to play for such a coach.

Posted By: Mike | May 1, 2008 6:41:55 PM

I remember the night this incident happened because it involved friends and teammates of my son. Leopards don't change their spots. What's really sad about this is that the Nazareth School Board, along with all those involved in the interviewing process, knew about this. It looks like Nazareth is so desparate to win games that they'll do it no matter the cost. And if they are convinced he'll be exonerated, then they're looking at facts that are vastly different than the ones the rest of us see.